14th Amendment Debt Ceiling Option: House Democrats Support Obama's Use Of Power

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats say President Barack Obama should consider invoking a little-known constitutional provision that they say gives him the power to raise the debt ceiling without going through Congress, where Republicans are demanding that a debt ceiling vote be linked to spending cuts.

The Democrats said in a letter that they would support the use of any authority, including the 14th Amendment, to prevent the nation from going into default, an event that some economists predict could trigger a global recession.

That post-Civil War amendment contains a section stating that "the validity of the public debt of the United States...shall not be questioned."

As of Wednesday 21 Democrats, led by Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, had signed the letter.